Jonathan Crow, leader & violin
Available to view March 26–April 15, 2021
Inspired by landscape paintings by Italian artist Marco Ricci, Vivaldi composed the Four Seasons roughly between 1720 and 1723, and published them in Amsterdam in 1725, in a set of twelve concerti entitled Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention). Inspired by the landscape paintings of artist, Marco Ricci, Vivaldi penned four poems that drive the movements of his most famous work. Their translations, below, are nowhere near as eloquent to the modern listener’s ear, but you’ll find that reading them along with your favorite recording of the Four Seasons will corroborate Professor.
Gabriela Lena Frank
The Paintings That Inspired Vivaldi These landscape paintings by Marco Ricci are similar to the ones that Antonio Vivaldi saw that inspired him to compose The Four Seasons. As a descriptive basis for his Four Seasons, Vivaldi took four Sonnets, apparently written by himself. Each of the four sonnets is expressed in a concerto, which in turn is divided into three phrases or ideas, reflected in the three movements (fast-slow-fast) of each concerto. The published scores (by Estienne Roger of Amsterdam in 1725) are.
“Coqueteos” from Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout
Read Gabriela Lena Frank’s bio on the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music website.
Work Composed: 2001
Watch the composer’s introduction to this performance.
Dinuk Wijeratne
“A letter from the After-life” from Two Pop Songs on Antique Poems
Read Dinuk Wijeratne’s bio on his website.
Work Composed: 2015
Watch the composer’s introduction to this performance.
Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Seasons for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 8
I. Concerto in E Major (“Spring”)
II. Concerto in G Minor (“Summer”)
III. Concerto in F Major (“Autumn”)
IV. Concerto in F Minor (“Winter”)
Born: Venice, Italy, Mar 4, 1678
Died: Vienna, Austria, Jul 28, 1741
Composed: 1716–1717
Program Note
The Four Seasons was published in 1725, by the Dutch firm headed by Michel-Charles Le Cène, as the first four in a collection of 12 violin concertos bearing the overall title Il cimento dell’ armonia e dell’ inventione (The Contest Between Harmony and Invention), Op. 8.
In his lifetime, Vivaldi’s busy and productive career as composer, violinist, and teacher drew its due share of acclaim, not least for his pioneering role in the rise of the concerto. As might be expected, of his 500-plus concertos, more than 200 focus on his own instrument—the violin.
His reputation, however, suffered a severe lapse following his death, returning to widespread currency only during the years following the Second World War. During that 220-year “down time,” virtually his only piece to remain in the standard repertoire was The Four Seasons, its popularity based to a great degree on its accessibility as programmatic (descriptive) music, an area in which Vivaldi was also a pioneer.
In the Le Cène 1725 first edition, the solo violin part included four sonnets—based on a set of paintings of the four seasons by Marco Ricci, an Italian artist of the Baroque period—likely written by Vivaldi himself. There is one sonnet for each concerto, with block letters printed to the left of each sonnet to indicate where Vivaldi saw the movements of the concerto in relation to specific lines in the text. As such, the sonnets themselves serve well as “composer’s notes” on the structure of the four concertos, and are provided in translation on the next page.
Program note by Don Anderson
A Note on the Petrarchan Sonnet Form
Unlike the Shakespearean sonnet, which is based on three quatrains followed by a rhyming couplet, the so-called “Petrarchan” (Francesco Petrarca 1304–1374) sonnet, with which Vivaldi would have been intimately familiar, is based on an eight-line opening stanza (the octave), usually rhymed ABBA ABBA, which sets a scene, states a problem, or establishes an overall context. It is followed by a more flexibly rhymed sestet which acts on the octave in some way, or presents some counterpoint to it. Vivaldi works intricately within (and occasionally against) this Petrarchan sonnet form in terms of the breaks between movements in these four concertos.
These translations are based on those to be found in the entry on The Four Seasons Sonnets at en.wikisource.org.
Marco Ricci Md
The Four Seasons Sonnets
Spring (Concerto in E Major)
Allegro
Springtime is upon us.
The birds celebrate her return with festive song,
and murmuring streams are
softly caressed by the breezes.
Thunderstorms, those heralds of Spring, roar,
casting their dark mantle over heaven.
Then they die away to silence,
and the birds take up their magical songs once more.
Largo
On the flower-strewn meadow, with leafy branches
rustling overhead, the goat-herd sleeps,
his faithful dog beside him.
Allegro
Led by the festive sound of rustic bagpipes,
nymphs and shepherds lightly dance
beneath the brilliant canopy of spring.
Summer (Concerto in G Minor)
Allegro non molto
Under a hard season, fired up by the sun
Man and flock both languish, and pine trees burn.
We hear the cuckoo’s voice; followed by
sweet songs of turtledove and finch.
Soft breezes stir the air, but, threatening,
the North Wind sweeps them suddenly aside.
The shepherd trembles,
fearing violent storms and his fate.
Adagio e piano – Presto e forte
The fear of lightning and fierce thunder
Robs his tired limbs of rest
As gnats and flies buzz furiously around.
Presto
Alas, his fears were justified
The Heavens thunder and roar; and hail
Cuts off the heads of the wheat, and damages the grain.
Autumn (Concerto in F Major)
Allegro
The peasant celebrates with songs and dances
the pleasure of a bountiful harvest.
And fired up by Bacchus’s liquor,
many end their revelry in sleep.
Adagio molto
Everyone is made to forget their cares and made to sing and dance
By the air which is tempered with pleasure
And (by) the season that invites so many, many
Out of sweetest slumber to blissful enjoyment.
Allegro
The hunters emerge at the new dawn,
And with horns and dogs and guns depart upon their hunting.
The wild beast flees and they follow its trail;
Terrified and tired by the great noise
of guns and dogs, the wounded beast,
tries futilely to flee, but harried, dies.
Winter (Concerto in F Minor)
Allegro non molto
To tremble from cold in the icy snow,
In the harsh breath of a horrid wind;
To run, stamping one’s feet every moment,
Teeth chattering in the extreme cold.
Largo
Before the fire to pass peaceful, contented days
while the rain outside pours down.
Allegro
We tread the icy path slowly and cautiously,
for fear of tripping and falling.
Then turn abruptly, slip, crash on the ground,
And rising, hasten on across the ice in case it cracks.
We feel the chill north winds course through the home
despite its locked and bolted doors...
This is winter, which, nevertheless,
brings its own delights.
An annual VSO tradition goes virtual. Concertmaster Nicholas Wright leads the VSO in Vivaldi’s timeless The Four Seasons. Free for the whole community, no subscription needed.
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Nicholas Wright, concertmaster
Concertmaster of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Wright is a native of England. His engagements as soloist, chamber and orchestral musician have taken him to most of the major concert halls in Europe, Asia and North America. He has performed concertos with orchestras worldwide including the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Royal Oman Symphony and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire spans works from Handel to premieres by composers such as Kelly-Marie Murphy and Jocelyn Morlock, whose works he recently recorded for the Naxos label. He made his solo debut with the York Guildhall Orchestra playing the Dvořák Romance, which was recorded for BBC Radio 3. His concerts and recordings have also been featured on CBC Radio (Canada) and Radio 4 (Hong Kong). As an orchestral musician, Nicholas has worked with the world’s most renowned conductors including Bernard Haitink, Sir Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev and Mstislav Rostropovich. He has performed extensively with the major chamber and symphony orchestras in London including the English Chamber and London Philharmonic Orchestras, and has appeared as guest concertmaster with orchestras such as the Bournemouth Symphony, BBC Concert and Ulster Orchestras. In 2003, he was appointed as the youngest member of the London Symphony Orchestra where he held the first violin sub-principal position, and in addition collaborated with film composers John Williams and Alexandre Desplat.
As a chamber musician Nicholas regularly takes part in series such as the Mainly Mozart Festival, Ribble Valley Festival, LSO and VSO chamber players and Vancouver’s Music on Main. He has performed in venues such as LSO St Luke’s and has collaborated with many renowned artists including Martin Roscoe and Simon Wright. Prior to his appointment as concertmaster of the VSO, he was first violinist of the critically acclaimed Vancouver based Koerner Quartet.
Nicholas received his training as a scholar at the Royal College of Music in London, studying with Itzhak Rashkovsky and Rodney Friend. In addition to winning prizes at the Royal College, Nicholas has been generously supported by grants from the Martin Musical Fund, the Craxton Memorial Fund and the Royal Overseas League. This has enabled him to study with many eminent musicians including Ruggiero Ricci and Gil Shaham. Nicholas enjoys teaching and has given many masterclasses internationally. He is on the faculty of the VSO School of Music. Nicholas plays on a violin by Stefan-Peter Greiner.
‘ wonderfully judged with seemingly effortless projection of tone…..It was a triumph. ‘ - The York Press
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ANTONIO VIVALDI
b. March 4, 1678 / Venice, Italy
d. July 28, 1741 / Vienna, Austria
Le quattro stagione / The Four Seasons
It is hard to imagine, but there was a time, not so very long ago, that Antonio Vivaldi was viewed as just another obscure composer of the baroque-era. Today, there are more than 1000 recordings of his most famous work, the set of four violin concertos known as Le quattro stagione - The Four Seasons. The earliest released recording of The Four Seasons dates from a French radio broadcast in the mid 1930s. The Italian conductor Bernardino Molinari led a recording session for six double-sided 78 rpm discs, released in 1942. And shortly after WWII, the American violinist Louis Kaufman led the movement to the long-playing, 33 rpm records that would catapult Vivaldi to classical rock star status. In popular culture, there have been at least 100 different films and television shows that have used Vivaldi's Four Seasons in some way. Its success undoubtedly prompted the re-discovery of Vivaldi’s copious output of more than 500 concertos!
Vivaldi was inspired to create The Four Seasons by the landscape paintings of a fellow Venetian, the artist Marco Ricci. Using scenes of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter as his inspiration, he composed the set in the early 1720s, and they were published in 1725 as part of a collection titled Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The Test of Harmony and Invention). It was not unusual for composers of the Baroque era to imitate words in music – a reference to “rising” in a song might elicit a melody moving upwards for instance – but in The Four Seasons, Vivaldi took the practice to a new level. A series of sonnets provide a kind of storyline for each of the concertos, with a fairly clear description of Nymphs and Shepherd, Countryfolk, Bagpipers and Huntsmen interacting with wildlife and the force of nature. A summary of the sonnets appears below, as well as at the accompanying passages of the video performance. You’ll be sure to hear the imitative call of the birds, the bark of a shepherd’s dog, the hunting party riding out, and the chattering of teeth from a winter wind!
Spring (Concerto in E Major, RV229)
I Allegro
Spring has arrived, and joyfully the birds greet her with glad song, while at Zephyr's breath the streams flow forth with a sweet murmur.
Her chosen heralds, thunder and lightning, come to envelop the air in a black cloak; once they have fallen silent, the little birds return anew to their melodious incantation:
II Largo e pianissimo sempre
then on the pleasant, flower-strewn meadow, to the happy murmur of fronds and plants, the goatherd sleeps next to his trusty dog.
III Danza pastorale: Allegro
To the festive sound of rustic bagpipes, nymphs and shepherds dance beneath the beloved sky at the glorious appearance of spring
Marco Ricci Four Seasons Paintings Images
Summer (Concerto in G minor, RV315)
I Allegro non molto
In a harsh season burned by the sun, man and flock languish, and the pine tree is scorched; the cuckoo unleashes its voice, and soon we hear the songs of the
turtle-dove and the goldfinch.
Sweet Zephyr blows, but Boreas (the North wind) suddenly opens a dispute with his neighbour; and the shepherd laments his fate for he fears a fierce squall is coming.
II Adagio – Presto
His weary limbs are robbed of rest by his fear of fierce thunder and lightning and by the furious swarm of flies and blowflies.
III Presto
Alas, his fears are only too real: the sky fills with thunder and lightning, and hailstones hew off the heads of proud cornstalks.
Autumn (Concerto in F Major, RV 293)
I Allegro
The countryman celebrates with dance and song the sweet pleasure of a good harvest, and many, fired by the liquor of Bacchus...end their enjoyment by falling asleep.
II Adagio molto
Everyone is made to abandon singing and dancing by the temperate air, which gives pleasure, and by the season, which invites so many to enjoy the sweetness of sleep.
III Allegro
The huntsmen come out at the crack of dawn with their horns, guns and hounds;
the quarry flees and they track it; terrified and tired out by the great noise of the guns and hounds... the wounded beast makes a feeble effort to flee but dies in agony.
Winter (Concerto in F Minor, RV 297)
I Allegro non molto
To shiver, frozen, amid icy snow in the bitter blast of a horrible wind; to run, constantly stamping one's feet; and to feel one's teeth chatter on account of the excessive cold;
II Largo
to spend restful, happy days at the fireside while the rain outside drenches a good hundred;
III Allegro
to walk on the ice, and with slow steps to move about cautiously for fear of falling; to go fast, to slip and fall down; to go on the ice again and run fast until the ice cracks and opens up; to hear coming out of the iron gates...Sirocco, Boreas and all the winds at war: that's winter, but of a kind to gladden one's heart.
Notes: Matthew Baird
VIVALDI The Four Seasons
Marco Ricci Four Seasons Paintings Pictures
Nicholas Wright, Violin Soloist & Leader
Ron and Ardelle Cliff Chair
First Violins
Timothy Steeves, Associate Concertmaster
William and Irene McEwen Chair
Jae-Won Bang
Rebecca Whitling
Yi Zhou
Second Violins
Ashley Plaut, Acting Assistant Principal
Carina Vincenti
Xue Feng Wei
Kimi Hamaguchi*
Violas
Andrew Brown, Acting Principal
Katrina Chitty
Jacob van der Sloot
Cellos
Dr Marco Ricci
Henry Shapard, Principal
Nezhat and Hassan Khosrowshahi Chair
Zoltan Rozsnyai, Assistant Principal
Olivia Blander
Gerhard and Adriane Bruendl Chair
Basses
Evan Hulbert, Associate Principal
Noah Reitman, Assistant Principal
Harpsichord
Amanda Chan*
* Extra Musician